Efforts to bring glitzy new graphics to Linux are fueling an old conflict: Does proprietary software belong in open-source Linux? The issue involves software modules called drivers, which plug into the kernel at the heart of the open-source operating system. Drivers let software communicate with hardware such as network adapters, hard drives and video cards.

If an OS must provide drivers for all possible out of the box, a full DVD or even HD-DVD/Blu-Ray will not enough for the installation disk.

Actually, you're wrong. Drivers don't take that much disk space, and Linux distributions have traditionally included all available ones on their first install CD (proprietary drivers being the exception, of course).

It is make more sense if a computer/laptop is preinstalled for specific hardware, thus only need to provide certain drivers, e.g. Dell, Lenovo, etc.

Of course. Pre-installing the OS just makes sense, unfortunately not many OEMs have offered Linux so far. It used to be that they couldn't, or Microsoft would have retaliated by cutting off their Windows ssupply (thus depriving them of most of their income).